Internet of medical things. Measurement of respiratory dynamics using wearable sensors in post-COVID-19 patients

Respiratory dynamics; Post-COVID-19 condition; Respiratory rateDinàmica respiratòria; Condició post-COVID-19; Freqüència respiratòriaDinámica respiratoria; Condición post-COVID-19; Frecuencia respiratoriaNowadays, the measurement of respiratory dynamics is underrated at clinical setting and in the daily life of a subject, still representing a challenge from a technical and medical point of view. In this article we propose a concept to measure some of its parameters, such as the respiratory rate (RR), using four inertial sensors. Two different experiments were performed to validate the concept. We analyzed the most suitable placement of each sensor to assess those features and studied the reliability of the system to measure abnormal parameters of respiration (tachypnea, bradypnea and breath holding). Finally, we measured post-COVID-19 patients, some of them with breath alterations after more than a year of the diagnosis. Experimental results showed that the proposed system could be potentially used to measure the respiratory dynamics at clinical setting. Moreover, while RR can be easily calculated by any sensor, other parameters need to be measured with a sensor in a particular position.Hoy en día la medición de la dinámica respiratoria está infravalorada en el ámbito clínico y en la vida diaria de un sujeto ,y sigue representando un reto desde el punto de vista técnico y médico. En este artículo proponemos un concepto para medir algunos de sus parámetros, como la frecuencia respiratoria (FR), utilizando cuatro sensore sinerciales. Se realizaron dos experimentos diferentes para validar el concepto. Analizamos la colocación más adecuada de cada sensor para evaluar esas características y estudiamos la fiabilidad del sistema para medir parámetros anormales de la respiración (taquipnea, bradipnea y retención de la respiración). Por último, realizamos mediciones en pacientes pos COVID-19, algunos de ellos con alteraciones respiratorias después de más de un año del diagnóstico. Los resultados experimentales mostraron que el sistema propuesto podría utilizarse potencialmente para medir la dinámica respiratoria en el ámbito clínico. Además, mientras que la FR puede calcularse fácilmente con cualquier sensor, otros parámetros deben medirse con un sensor en una posición determinada.This research was partially funding by RoboCity2030-DIHCM Madrid Robotics Digital Innovation Hub (“Robotica aplicada a la mejora de la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos, Fase IV”; S2018/NMT-4331), funded by “Programas de Actividades I+D en la Comunidad de Madrid” and cofunded by Structural Funds of the EU. J. Benito-Leon is supported by the National Institutes of ´ Health, Bethesda, MD, USA (NINDS # R01 NS39422), the European Commission (grant ICT-2011-287739, NeuroTREMOR), the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grant RTC2015-3967-1, NetMD—platform for the tracking of movement disorder), and the Spanish Health Research Agency (grant FIS PI12/01602 and grant FIS PI16/00451)

Weber approach for retromolar adenoid cyst carcinoma: case report and literature review

Adenoid cyst carcinoma (ACC) is an uncommon facial tumor and challenging to treat; surgical treatment is challenging due to its localization. A 49-year-old Latin female patient with a one-year history of soft tissue-depending mass of slow growth in the right maxillary region. Laboratory tests reported normal. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a maxillary tumor. Patient underwent to surgical resection by Weber-Fergusson approach. The patient received postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy. ACC is a challenging entity to treat, surgical resection, and radiotherapy is required. The combination of surgery and radiotherapy represents the definitive treatment for ACC. Chemotherapy remains controversial and is reserved for palliation in selected cases.

Intestinal obstruction by deep enteric endometriosis: case report and literature review

Deep endometriosis (DE) is an uncommon cause of bowel obstruction; preoperative diagnosis is a challenging task due to its rarity and pathological confirmation. Surgery is the appropriate treatment and complications are common. A 26-year-old Latin female was admitted to emergency department with 72 hours history of abdominal pain associated with inability to pass stool or gas, vomiting and nausea. Abdominal distention and pain without acute abdomen signs. Laboratory tests reported normal. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed distal small bowel obstruction. Patient underwent exploratory laparotomy with segmental resection bearing ileal strictures and Brook´s ileostomy was performed. Postoperative course of patient was uneventful and after pathology report treatment with dienogest was established. DE remains challenging entity to treat, medical treatment can reduce symptoms, but surgical resection is required. Bowel resection is reserved for mayor stenosis lesions. Anastomotic leakage is frequent. Surgery represents the definitive treatment for bowel obstruction by DE. Resection improves pain and intestinal symptoms. Recurrence, stenosis, and anastomotic leakage rates vary across the studies. Surgical and medical treatment should be considered

Impact of COVID-19 on the degree of compliance with hand hygiene: a repeated cross-sectional study

Hand hygiene (HH) is the paramount measure used to prevent healthcare associated infections. A repeated cross-sectional study was undertaken with direct observation of the degree of compliance on HH of healthcare personnel during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Between, 2018-2019, 9,083 HH opportunities were considered, and 5,821 in 2020-2022. Chi squared tests were used to identify associations. The crude and adjusted odds ratios were used along with a logistic regression model for statistical analyses. Compliance on HH increased significantly (p < 0.001) from 54.5% (95% CI: 53.5, 55.5) to 70.1% (95% CI: 68.9, 71.2) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase was observed in four of the five key moments of HH established by the World Health Organization (WHO) (p<0.05), except at moment 4. The factors that were significantly and independently associated with compliance were the time period considered, type of healthcare-personnel, attendance at training sessions, knowledge of HH and WHO guidelines, and availability of hand disinfectant alcoholic solution in pocket format. Highest HH compliance occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting a positive change in healthcare-personnel’s behavior regarding HH recommendations.We received funding through the Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL) plan for scientific and technical research and innovation project number 2021-0392

Metagenomics of Atacama lithobiontic extremophile life unveils highlights on fungal communities, biogeochemical cycles and carbohydrate-active enzymes

Halites, which are typically found in various Atacama locations, are evaporitic rocks that are considered as micro-scaled salterns. Both structural and functional metagenomic analyses of halite nodules were performed. Structural analyses indicated that the halite microbiota is mainly composed of NaCl-adapted microorganisms. In addition, halites appear to harbor a limited diversity of fungal families together with a biodiverse collection of protozoa. Functional analysis indicated that the halite microbiome possesses the capacity to make an extensive contribution to carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles, but possess a limited capacity to fix nitrogen. The halite metagenome also contains a vast repertory of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZY) with glycosyl transferases being the most abundant class present, followed by glycosyl hydrolases (GH). Amylases were also present in high abundance, with GH also being identified. Thus, the halite microbiota is a potential useful source of novel enzymes that could have biotechnological applicability. This is the first metagenomic report of fungi and protozoa as endolithobionts of halite nodules, as well as the first attempt to describe the repertoire of CAZY in this community. In addition, we present a comprehensive functional metagenomic analysis of the metabolic capacities of the halite microbiota, providing evidence for the first time on the sulfur cycle in Atacama halites

Impact of volatile phenols and their precursors on wine quality and control measures of Brettanomyces/Dekkera yeasts

Volatile phenols are aromatic compounds and one of the key molecules responsible for olfactory defects in wine. The yeast genus Brettanomyces is the only major microorganism that has the ability to covert hydroxycinnamic acids into important levels of these compounds, especially 4-ethylphenol and 4-ethylguaiacol, in red wine. When 4-ethylphenols reach concentrations greater than the sensory threshold, all wine’s organoleptic characteristics might be influenced or damaged. The aim of this literature review is to provide a better understanding of the physicochemical, biochemical, and metabolic factors that are related to the levels of p-coumaric acid and volatile phenols in wine. Then, this work summarizes the different methods used for controlling the presence of Brettanomyces in wine and the production of ethylphenols

Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020.

Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3–5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variant’s success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited

Genetic landscape of 6089 inherited retinal dystrophies affected cases in Spain and their therapeutic and extended epidemiological implications

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), defined by dysfunction or progressive loss of photoreceptors, are disorders characterized by elevated heterogeneity, both at the clinical and genetic levels. Our main goal was to address the genetic landscape of IRD in the largest cohort of Spanish patients reported to date. A retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 6089 IRD affected individuals (from 4403 unrelated families), referred for genetic testing from all the Spanish autonomous communities. Clinical, demographic and familiar data were collected from each patient, including family pedigree, age of appearance of visual symptoms, presence of any systemic findings and geographical origin. Genetic studies were performed to the 3951 families with available DNA using different molecular techniques. Overall, 53.2% (2100/3951) of the studied families were genetically characterized, and 1549 different likely causative variants in 142 genes were identified. The most common phenotype encountered is retinitis pigmentosa (RP) (55.6% of families, 2447/4403). The most recurrently mutated genes were PRPH2, ABCA4 and RS1 in autosomal dominant (AD), autosomal recessive (AR) and X-linked (XL) NON-RP cases, respectively; RHO, USH2A and RPGR in AD, AR and XL for non-syndromic RP; and USH2A and MYO7A in syndromic IRD. Pathogenic variants c.3386G > T (p.Arg1129Leu) in ABCA4 and c.2276G > T (p.Cys759Phe) in USH2A were the most frequent variants identified. Our study provides the general landscape for IRD in Spain, reporting the largest cohort ever presented. Our results have important implications for genetic diagnosis, counselling and new therapeutic strategies to both the Spanish population and other related populations.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) of the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS; PI16/00425 and PI19/00321), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER, 06/07/0036), IIS-FJD BioBank (PT13/0010/0012), Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, RAREGenomics Project, B2017/BMD-3721), European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE), Fundación Ramón Areces, Fundación Conchita Rábago and the University Chair UAM-IIS-FJD of Genomic Medicine. Irene Perea-Romero is supported by a PhD fellowship from the predoctoral Program from ISCIII (FI17/00192). Ionut F. Iancu is supported by a grant from the Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, PEJ-2017-AI/BMD7256). Marta del Pozo-Valero is supported by a PhD grant from the Fundación Conchita Rábago. Berta Almoguera is supported by a Juan Rodes program from ISCIII (JR17/00020). Pablo Minguez is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CP16/00116). Marta Corton is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CPII17/00006). The funders played no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation and/or publication decisions

RICORS2040 : The need for collaborative research in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent and poorly known killer. The current concept of CKD is relatively young and uptake by the public, physicians and health authorities is not widespread. Physicians still confuse CKD with chronic kidney insufficiency or failure. For the wider public and health authorities, CKD evokes kidney replacement therapy (KRT). In Spain, the prevalence of KRT is 0.13%. Thus health authorities may consider CKD a non-issue: very few persons eventually need KRT and, for those in whom kidneys fail, the problem is 'solved' by dialysis or kidney transplantation. However, KRT is the tip of the iceberg in the burden of CKD. The main burden of CKD is accelerated ageing and premature death. The cut-off points for kidney function and kidney damage indexes that define CKD also mark an increased risk for all-cause premature death. CKD is the most prevalent risk factor for lethal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the factor that most increases the risk of death in COVID-19, after old age. Men and women undergoing KRT still have an annual mortality that is 10- to 100-fold higher than similar-age peers, and life expectancy is shortened by ~40 years for young persons on dialysis and by 15 years for young persons with a functioning kidney graft. CKD is expected to become the fifth greatest global cause of death by 2040 and the second greatest cause of death in Spain before the end of the century, a time when one in four Spaniards will have CKD. However, by 2022, CKD will become the only top-15 global predicted cause of death that is not supported by a dedicated well-funded Centres for Biomedical Research (CIBER) network structure in Spain. Realizing the underestimation of the CKD burden of disease by health authorities, the Decade of the Kidney initiative for 2020-2030 was launched by the American Association of Kidney Patients and the European Kidney Health Alliance. Leading Spanish kidney researchers grouped in the kidney collaborative research network Red de Investigación Renal have now applied for the Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientadas a Resultados en Salud (RICORS) call for collaborative research in Spain with the support of the Spanish Society of Nephrology, Federación Nacional de Asociaciones para la Lucha Contra las Enfermedades del Riñón and ONT: RICORS2040 aims to prevent the dire predictions for the global 2040 burden of CKD from becoming true